The invention set forth in this specification pertains to a new and improved method and apparatus for use in operating a counter so as to set the counter to a desired value.
The counters to which the present invention pertains are electronic counting devices which are capable of counting electrical pulses supplied to them from an exterior source in order to provide an output indicating a numeric value corresponding to the number of such pulses. These counting devices or counters are capable of either counting up or counting down depending upon the nature of a control signal used with them. Such counting devices have wide utility in connection with a number of extremely diverse applications. They are primarily utilized in providing outputs capable of being used to display a numeric value through the use of an appropriate, known, numeric display apparatus. Such counters are well adapted for use in connection with various known types of liquid crystal and light emitting diode displays.
In most applications of such counters or counting devices it is necessary and/or desirable for a user to preset the counter so that the numeric output of the counter is at a predetermined value prior to the counter being utilized in connection with a counting operation. In the past a number of expedients have been proposed and used in connection with presetting or setting counters of the type indicated. An understanding of the present invention is not considered to require a detailed reference to the various manners in which these counting devices have been set to desired predetermined output values prior to or during their use.
In general it has been most conventional to utilize a series of switches so as to "load" a counter in presetting the counter so that the output of the counter indicates a desired predetermined value. These and various other expedients which have been utilized in presetting counters are considered to be undesirably expensive and are considered to be undesirable because of the space or volume normally occupied by the presetting components utilized. This latter is more important than a person might normally realize. Because of space limitations in various locations, such as in an aircraft cockpit, it is normally necessary and/or desirable to use a resetting mechanism for a counter which does not take up any significant amount of control panel space.